Embrace Biotechnology For Food Security, Minister Tells Nigerians

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Sabo Nanono, says the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to creating a functional input system with a high priority given to seeds.
The Minister made this disclosure at the 2019 Seed Fair and Farmers’ Field Day, organised by the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) at the NASC headquarters yesterday in Sheda, Abuja.
The event had as theme: “Making Quality Seeds Available, Accessible and Affordable to Nigerian Farmers”.
According to Nanono, it is indisputable that there is a strong correlation between Nigeria’s quest for self sufficiency in food production and a robust agricultural input supply system.
He said that the recent signing into law of the Seed Act 2019 was a testimonial of the president’s resolve to strengthen Nigeria’s seed system.
“This has repositioned NASC to further enable her play her role in the development and regulation of the nation’s seed industry,’’ the minister said.
Nanono added that in the face of climate change, the world was transiting from breeding to biotechnology.
“The application of modern biotechnology to plant breeding is considered to be more efficient and quicker than conventional breeding techniques in the development of new and resilient crop varieties.
“I, therefore, urge Nigerians to embrace these technologies which will help us in our pursuit of food security,’’ Nanono said.